The Loss of a Lantern
by DeliriumCanidae
Summary: Sanity, when it gets down to it, can hinge on very little.  Like a lantern.  And when that hinge is broken, telling yourself even the most comforting things is no help. -Rated to be safe, unbeta'd-


_AN: So, I've never actually played Amnesia. I have, however, sat through a walkthrough of the game with a friend. Because we're cowards. And then, while browsing dA for fanart, I decided to type this up and said friend told me I should totes post it here. I haven't posted anything here in so long that it's almost funny, so I said, 'hey, why not?' So up it goes._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Amnesia: The Dark Descent or Daniel. I just play with them for the lulz._

_Daniel. My name is Daniel. I'm from…Mayfair? Yes, that sounds right. I think. Well, it doesn't much matter at this point, but I am Daniel from Mayfair. I'm in a castle, tracking down a man named Alexander to murder him, and I'm being chased by a monstrosity that I only know as the shadow. And I don't REMEMBER any of this, because I had the brilliant idea of erasing every last bit of it from my brain, with just a note as explanation._

_Don't be afraid, Daniel. That's what I told myself._

_Daniel. My name is Daniel. I'm from Mayfair._

He balanced carefully on the box, standing as close to the center of it as he could, lantern held tightly in one white-knuckled, shaking hand. He stared at the water with no small amount of trepidation, and cautiously tossed a piece of what appeared to have been an arm (self-preservation made touching dead human meat more bearable, as it turned out) across the chamber.

_Splosh splosh splosh_ as the creature lumbered after it to investigate.

He bolted, running for the cat walk and the gate wheel.

A snarl, and a rapid _splishsplishsplishsplish_ as it sprinted after him, growling and grinding out what could have been words or just beastly nothingness. Claws swiping at the back of his coat, and then he jumped, skidding on the cobblestones of the catwalk, to safety. His shoulder slammed into the wall in his hurry. And the lantern slipped from his fingers.

A splash as it slipped beneath the surface, and a muted crash as it shattered. Quiet crunching as the creature trampled over it in curiosity.

_Daniel. My name is Daniel. I'm from…I'm from… Daniel. My name is Daniel._

Never had anything ever seemed as dark as that chamber was in that instance. He cautiously stepped along the catwalk, feeling his way along the wall until he felt the gate wheel. The metal, rusted though it was, was comfortingly solid beneath his fingers, like an anchor while the rest of the room drowned in darkness so intense the walls seemed to be boiling.

And then he came to one very important realization.

He couldn't see the gate. He couldn't see the gate, and there was a creature in the water that was as fast as him, or faster, that he also couldn't see that would kill him as soon as it realized he had stepped away from safety.

He turned the wheel and strained his ears to listen for the quiet, distant _clunk clunk clunk_ of the gate lifting, but it was hard to hear over the irate growling and the lazy, lumbering _splosh splosh splosh _as the creature paced in front of the catwalk.

_Chunk chunk chunk_ as the gate closed, and the creature almost seemed to laugh at him.

_My name is…my name… Daniel. My name is Daniel._

It was too damn dark, and he was stuck on the miniscule little catwalk, and he was out of tinder. And anyway, there was nothing to burn. He couldn't see, and he didn't know where the gate was.

His back met the wall and he slid down to sit on the stones, hands coming up to cover his face as he curled in on himself. It was almost brighter with his eyes closed.

_Clunk clunk clunk_

Not listening. No one else had touched the wheel and he wasn't listening because there was nothing there to listen to. Nothing. Not listening.

_Chunk chunk chunk_

Missed his chance.

Except he hadn't because there was NOTHING THERE. He was not LISTENING to this because there was nothing to listen to.

_Clunk clunk clunk_

It wasn't closing. Maybe…maybe he could make. Maybe it got jammed, and he had a chance to make it.

_Splosh splosh splosh_

But he had no chance. Not blind. Especially not blind. Especially when there wasn't anything there, just his mind playing tricks on him.

His hands clenched his hair and he huddled in on himself.

_My…my name…my name is…_

…

Something finally snapped, and he slid sideways until he was huddled in a trembling fetal position, arms covering his head.

_My name…my name is…my name is… _


End file.
